When the War Was Over: The Failure of Self-Reconstruction in the South, 1865-1867

by Dan T. Carter

When the War Was Over is a social and political history of the two years following the surrender of the Confederacy - the so-called period of Presidential Reconstruction when the South, under the watchful gaze of Congress and the Union army, attempted to rebuild its shattered society and economic structure. Working primarily from rich manuscript sources, Carter draws a vivid portrait of the political leaders who emerged after the war, a diverse group of men - former loyalists as well as a few mildly repentant fire-eaters - who in some cases genuinely sought to find a place in southern society for the newly emancipated slaves, but who in many other cases merely sought to redesign the boundaries of black servitude.

Genres: History

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Before his retirement in 2007, Dan Carter taught at the University of South Carolina, where he specialized in 20th century U.S. politics and the post-Civil War American South. He graduated from University of South Carolina in 1962 and completed his graduate work in history at the University of Wisconsin and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967. Prior to accepting his appointment to the University of South Carolina, Carter taught at Emory University from 1970 until 2000.

Reviews

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this book, Carter attempts to bring order to one of the most confusing and important phases of the Reconstruction era. However, he is largely unsuccessful.